Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

Yoga, health, wellness, and recipes from YogaDownload.com

Vacation on your mind, but yearning for something different? Let’s retreat with a cause in the yoga haven of India, where the ancient science of the Vedas has proliferated into a compelling alternative lifestyle which is sustainable, self-empowering, and enriched with deeply seated wisdom.

The legacy of yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda ricochets in this birth land of ancient yogis and world peace leaders. In the far North, the Himalayas stand in all its majestic glory where yoga has been a way of life since long ago. And in the deep South, in the tropical stretches of Kerala, Ayurveda, the priceless medicine of the Vedic civilization is still maintained in lived practices. Where else can you spend your days off to get rejuvenated and feel the power surging within at a cellular level, but here in India!

Here are reasons why you must experience this awesomeness as your next vacation.

Rest Because You Need To

To work is to live, but to work without break to catch your breath on is a menace! Once in a while, you need to give your body and mind a rest, press pause, and go somewhere far away. With a weeklong retreat planned away in India, you can finally get that much needed wink of rest. How rejuvenating it can be to be on a meditation retreat, laying out a deck chair and experiencing sunsets without any other responsibility!

Bleeping Out of Network

To remain unconditionally connected with the fast moving life around has become so naturalized in each one of us, that it seems like a dream to be alone with one’s own thoughts for a while. If you are desperately wishing your phone, and mail boxes to shut the hell off, a retreat in India can be a super excuse. Bleep out of network range for a few days and feel the stress building up in your body and mind drifting away. Take a book to read, the one you had no time to sit with in a long while, plug into your soul music, do yoga, travel to a faraway land, experience their culture, talk to someone new, see how the world becomes your oyster again, without the constant distraction of your phone.

Cellular Level Purification

Can you feel toxins accumulating and working their way into your health? Some common indicators of falling health show with chronic pain, fragile skin and hair, as well as a deep sense of fatigue. When you know the toxins have reached the brimful, come to a retreat to get back into optimal health. At many standard yoga retreats in India, Ayurvedic herbal spas and rejuvenating massage therapies will be availed to you in-house, so that you can completely detoxify and take home only good cheers from the duration of your stay at a retreat center.

Good Old Indian Food!

Anybody who has ever had a taste of food made with delectable Indian spices can never forget what joy it is to the taste buds! Indian food is an explosion of heightened sensations, and not just that, but a pack of health benefits come along with every dish. At a retreat in India, you are going to have great food served to you every day and bunch of priceless recipes handed out at cooking classes too. Holidaying with yoga retreats in Kerala has got more attractions for cooking enthusiasts, because the enchanting spice gardens of the Nilgiri Hills is so close by!

Reconnecting With ‘Yourself’

Our day to day hectic life has a way of letting our true Self slip away amidst all the fray. You cannot remember what your heart’s true desires were and your prayers to the divine. In the tussle of keeping up with the world around creates a disruption of our spiritual process which can only be re-claimed through meditation. At a retreat in India, you will be given the best of guided meditation and a space conducive to the practice. Happy coming back to yourself!

A lot of Yoga!

Practicing yoga has a plethora of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits. What better way to recharge, than to make this the focal point of your next holiday? This is it, the best possible way to travel footloose and fancy-free, spend quality time with people you want to travel with, and come home with golden memories and undeniable mind-body benefits.

So, what are you even waiting for!

By Manmohan Singh

Manmohan Singh is a yoga enthusiast himself; freelance writer Manmohan lets his free spirit flow with his thoughts as he pens them down in his writings. He loves travelling and believes that ‘knowledge shared is knowledge gained.’ This concept inspired him to set up his own yoga institute in Rishikesh,India and other countries to spread the message of yogic sciences. His Yoga school (Rishikul Yogshala) imparts teachings on Yoga and Meditation under guided instructions of traditional yoga teachers. Interact with him through his website: https://www.rishikulyogshala.org.

Can't make it to India today? Still, learn and practice the Indian science of Ayurveda with yoga, in the Yoga & Ayurveda 101 program!

Related Posts

Yoga for Crossfit: Why it Improves Performance & 3 Poses

Yoga is not only a good way to relax your mind and body, it is also being praised for improving Crossfit performance. Yoga creates more flexibility and creates more mobility, which are beneficial for the rigors of Crossfit as well as reducing the risk of injury.
While the practices are different in many ways, Crossfit and yoga actually have a lot in common, so if you practice yoga, it’s can be easier to learn to practice Crossfit, and vice versa.
Benefits of Yoga for Crossfit:
Here are a few reasons why you should consider using yoga as a part of your crossfit training regime.
Yoga has many gentle poses that develop your core which is an important part to Crossfit. Being capable of balancing and holding the body with the core is essential. When you regularly practice yoga, you promote strength, endurance, and flexibility and have a greater awareness of how to use your core effectively. You also find your inner strength which is important in Crossfit training.
You practice cultivating calm, in challenging moments in yoga, and that can really help during Crossfit.
Yoga can help us have more fun in Crossfit. Studies have found that yoga allows you to become more self-aware and improves your energy levels, helping you to enjoy life more fully. Sometimes in Crossfit, training and progress becomes such a focus point that we forget to be light and have fun. Yoga can help here.

4 Reasons to Branch Out in Your Yoga Practice

Sun Salutations, Warrior Poses, Downward Dog – every yogi has their favourite tried and tested poses and flows that they may be able to do with their eyes closed. As you move through your daily routine on the matt, you might notice your mind drifting. The flows that once took concentration and took your mind away from the humdrum day to day thoughts are now second nature, and you’ve lost your sense of zen. It’s easy to get into a rut if you stick to your comfort zones in life – and your yoga practice is no different. This week we’re challenging you to try a new class every day for two weeks.
Here are four key benefits that branching out in your yoga practice can bring you.
1. Keep your brain active
Did you know that learning a new skill, such as a different language or something creative like a musical instrument can help your brain form new connections? The same applies when you learn a new yoga flow or try a challenging pose. Stimulating your brain in this way can increase your memory skills, concentration and even your creativity levels. Learning something new, like figuring out a new yoga challenge can create neural pathways in the brain, increasing brain power.

9 Reasons Why Men Should Do Yoga

It improves your physique as well as your mental health, but even though yoga is one of the most beneficial exercises to do, many men still shy away from the practice. From increasing your strength to helping your sleeping patterns, there’s a wealth of reasons why men should do yoga.
Here’s our top nine reasons why you should incorporate yoga into your workout regime.
Builds your muscles evenly
A lot of men schedule their workouts to build their muscles on certain parts of their body, for example their arms or shoulders. Yoga works to build muscles all over the body evenly. Yoga practice will work the muscles many men ignore in their workout regimes, which makes it a great exercise for overall body conditioning, an ideal reason why men should do yoga, especially if their aim is to build muscle.
Reduces the risk of injury

Guide For Your First Yoga Retreat (infographic)

A yoga retreat provides the perfect health and wellness balance to travel the world, eat delicious food and deepen your yoga practice. 62% of 36 million of American practitioners of all levels have the desire to go on a yoga holiday, reports the 2016 Yoga Journal study.

50 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Yoga and Meditation

Yoga and meditation can be used as a healthcare tool for healthy living. You have heard that yoga meditation is helpful or good for health. But how it is good for health or it works really? There are also many controversial stories about yoga. So, you should know scientifically about yoga meditation. There are a lot of studies shows you the proof behind the every benefits of yoga meditation. These are the 100 benefits based on the available researches.

5 Reasons Online Yoga Classes Enrich Your Yoga Practice

Online classes are not always given the respect they deserve. While they have plenty of differences than in-person classes, they nonetheless offer room for growth.
My first experience with yoga did not happen in a studio or group setting. It happened with a Power Yoga DVD that I picked up from the store. Eventually I started going to a studio, but practicing yoga by myself with a DVD was my first step. Since then, I have enjoyed the wide variety of online classes available to explore other yoga styles and teachers.
In every yoga class, online or in person, you learn something new. It ranges from the external, such as a pose cued by the instructor, to the internal, such as building self-awareness. I have been practicing yoga for nine years, and continue to learn new things from every teacher and class I attend.
Online platforms bring the teachers, classes and learning experiences to you- you just need to be ready for them.
Here are 5 of the ways online classes enrich you’re your yoga practice (in ways in-person classes do not).